Val-Dieu Brune

Brewed by Brasserie de l’Abbaye du Val-Dieu
Style: Abbey Dubbel
Aubel, Belgium

Serve in Trappist glass

750 ml bottme. A little test of roasted malts. Full bodied and very tastefull. A very nice beer. Earlier versions does only have 6 % alcohol. The one i am tasting the nice 8%. Tasted it also on draft.

750 ml. bottle. Cloudy brown with a frothy almond color head leaving webs of lacing. Aroma of dark brown sugar and cakey malts, raisins, spice, yeast and alcohol. A bit of mustiness rising up as well. Sweet dark bready malts offset by a grapey tartness. Some bitterness and musty notes on the finish. Mouthfeel overly thin, giving it kind a diluted character. Not a bad Belgian ale considering it’s from the supermarket.

11.2 oz bottle - Pours brown with a 2 finger head. It smells of yeast, dark fruit, and a little farmhouse funk. The flavor has sour notes vying with sweet malts and yeast. The body is a little thin and the finish mildly sour.

Pour is dark amber and brown. Some wine like character, grape and caramelish, but slightly watered down. I believe this finished seventh out of the nine dubbels at a blind tasting.

Sampled at a blind abbey dubbel tasting hosted by tennisjoel on 4-14-07, along with eight other beers. This was the first beer that we tasted. It finished in last place in my rankings, but it was third place in the group rankings. Originally poured from a 750 mL bottle. The overwhelming winner of the night was ’t Smisje Dubbel, with Corsendonk Pater finishing a strong if distant second. <P>Sweet, yeasty aroma featuring chocolate and apricot scents as well as some citrus sourness. Pours a sparkling (many bubbles) purplish brown with a moderate amount of beige head. Produces extensive lacing. Rich, sharp, sour, and chocolatey flavor. A hint of dark chocolate bitterness. Characteristically low on hops. Tastes like raspberry cocoa. A bit much for me. Medium body. Lively and frothy in the palate. Val-Dieu Brune would make a decent dessert beer.

Bottle from my dad. Dark brown colour. Really nice dubbel, caramel and really spicy aroma. Sweet, then bitter and sour/tart flavour. Overall a bit watery.

Tart, light bitterness, enjoyable. Not spectacular. Nice brown color with full head that takes a while to dissipate. Lively carbonation. Not bad.

Bottle (from Bitter Virtue). Lots of caramelly malt and dried fruit. Hints of spicy yeast. A bit too sweet for me and ends slightly cloying. High carbonation doesnt help.